1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to means for holding bags and the like in a ready-to-use position.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
A preliminary patentability search conducted in class 248, subclass 99 produced the following patents: Welles, U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,496; Atkin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,280; Groff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,764; Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,689; Rylander, U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,011; and Borland et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,123.
Welles discloses a generally U-shaped device for being secured to the open mouth of a flexible bag or the like to hold the mouth of the bag open. The U-shaped device may include slits for receiving a portion of the bag to secure the bag to the device.
Atkin discloses an apparatus for holding the mouth of a plastic bag or the like open and positioned directly beneath a fly-tying vise. The apparatus includes a metal rod being in a generally rectangular loop about which the open mouth of the plastic bag is secured.
Groff discloses a device for holding the mouth of a paper grocery bag open. The device includes a ramp or scoop to allow refuse or the like to be swept into the bag, includes a hanger for allowing the open bag to be hung from a wall or the like, and includes projections for extending through the wall of the bag to hold the bag secure to the device.
Jones discloses a device for holding open the mouth of a plastic bag having a pair of handle loops. The device includes a pair of spaced apart protuberances for receiving the handle loops of the bag
Rylander discloses a device that can be rolled in a substantially cylindrical configuration and inserted into the mouth of a plastic bag. When the device is released, it will spring open to thereby hold the mouth of the bag in an open position.
Borland et al. discloses a device for holding the mouth of a plastic bag open. The device consists of a hoop about which the mouth of a plastic bag is secured by pressing a portion of the plastic bag through an aperture in the hoop and pulling the portion of the plastic bag that is pressed through the aperture into a slot in the hoop.
The inventor is aware of large metal supports used on golf courses for large garbage bags or the like.
The inventor is also aware of the practice used by many dentists of merely taping plastic bags to a counter top to collect trash and the like.
None of the above patents disclose or suggest the present invention. More specifically, none of the above patents disclose or suggest a bag holding device including a base member for being attached to a support member, and a tab member attached to the base member for extending into a cuff of a bag to hold the bag to the device. The inventor is not aware of any support for a flap-type sandwich bags or of such flap-type sandwich bags being used for trash collection.